Dancing Lights
Probably the most frequent and first question people ask is “how do you get the lights to ‘dance’ with the music”. The answer to that question is a lot more complicated than I actually even understand. But the good news is several companies have made it their business to make it easy for people like me.

Up until just a few years ago what you see in our Christmas display was all but impossible for anybody but the likes of Disney World, with their budget, resources and expertise. But today this technology is readily available and relatively affordable even for residential applications. 

The company I use is called Light-O-Rama. They sell “control boxes” and proprietary software that makes all this possible. To do this not only requires that you purchase the equipment, but it also requires many hours of programming the individual lights in your yard to the songs you choose. But the results are well worth it!

Each control box has either 8 or 16 "channels" which are individual plugs you can control a different set of lights with. We have added 32 channels for 2010 for a total of 144 channels (48 in 2007, 80 in 2008, 112 in 2009).

If you’d like to check out Light-O-Rama, the control boxes and demo software, you may visit the company at www.lightorama.com.

Here is a screen shot of the Light-O-Rama software used to program the songs.

How Long Does That Take You?
Our passion for celebrating Christmas and for sharing the joy we have in our hearts over its meaning really is a year long endeavor. We are planning almost year round, working on projects and programming the computer. But to actually put the lights up and the display together takes about a month. We start the day after Halloween and have it all ready to go the first Sunday of Advent (the first Sunday after Thanksgiving which begins at sundown on Saturday).


Where Do You Store It All?
We have a great yard for what we do. We not only have a "double" lot, but a corner lot as well, so we in essence are decorating three yards. In our back yard is a pool and a cabana or pool house. That structure has a large storage area and attic. In addition, we rent a small storage space close to the house for the bulky items (blow molds and inflatables).


North Pole
The north pole is a large PVC pipe purchased at Lowe's. I used red duck tape wrapped around the pole, which slips perfectly over a concrete pole barrier installed to protect the fire hydrant from cars. I drilled holes in the pole and inserted closet rods which I painted white. I used wood fence sections painted white and cut to the appropriate size, hung from chain link from each closet rod inserted through the drilled holes in the PVC pipe. I topped it off with a plastic round outdoor lamp dome.


Mini and Tweenie Trees
These trees (fifteen minis and four new "tweenie" trees in 2009) have two colors of LED lights. The base of the trees are small wreath easels commonly used at cemeteries or "vegetable trellises". The lights are attached to the structure with zip ties and progressively wrapped around until they are full (approximately 180 lights for each color).  The new tweenie trees in 2009 are made from vegetable/tomatoe trellises, are 4' high and will be "verticle" trees, meaning each of their two colors will be split into a top, middle and bottom section, each being able to be lit seperately.


FM Station
The FM signal you receive in your car is transmitted through a very low power transmitter (making it legal) which can be purchased through several retailers, either in a kit or assembled. I actually purchased the kit from a company called Ramsey Electronics, which required significant soldering. But with patience and time, it was not that difficult. The transmitter I purchased (FM100B Standard Super Pro FM Stereo Transmitter Kit) allows you to pick a frequency of your choice but because of the low power, you need to be able to find a frequency where no other signal is being received.

If you'd like to visit Ramsey Electronics and see the transmitter I use, you may do so at http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=FM100B.
 

Large Tree Ornaments
The large ornaments have been purchased over years at Christmas stores, Big Lots and wherever they can be found. We used hanging basket "S" hooks purchased in packages of two (2) or three (3) from Lowe's. One tree is adorned with multi-color ornaments and the other tree has only silver ornaments hanging from it.



"Ornament" Garland
A new addition in 2008 to the sofit around the house, this project was made using the bulk ornaments you can find at warehouse and discount stores, using a soldering iron to put a hole in opposite sides of each ornament, and stringing them together to form garland. We have more than 80 feet of this gingerbread house "garland" which adds to the beauty of viewing our display during the day.



Do you have anything you've seen that you'd like to ask about? Let us know. E-mail us at soflochristmas@comcast.net.

Here are some other great web sites for resources I use.

Strobe lights (www.cheaplights.com).

Inflatables (www.buyinflatables.com).

Ideas/camaraderie among Christmas decorating enthusiasts (www.planetchristmas.com).